Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Synthetic biology offers many tantalizing possibilities, but scientists consider some projects too risky to pursue.

Some scientists trying to create "mirror life" have stopped in their tracks. A mirror microorganism could end up being a major pathogen since immune systems wouldn't notice it. Mirror-image biology ...

For whatever reason, life formed on Earth with right-handed DNA and left-handed proteins. But scientists have long wondered if a mirror version of life could be created. While these “mirror cells” ...

Kate Adamala had been working on something dangerous. At her synthetic biology lab, Adamala had been taking preliminary steps toward creating a living cell from scratch with one key twist: All the ...

Mirror bacteria and microbes are synthetic lifeforms made to reflect existing life on Earth. They could serve as tools to treat diseases, but some scientists are concerned about potentially ...

Our hands are mirror images of each other. Unless you flip one hand around, they’ll never look the same. Scientists call this chirality, and the mirror-like property is fundamental to all life on ...

Hold out your hands, palms up, and move them so they are on top of each other. With a little experimentation—and perhaps a few rather flamboyant gestures—you'll find that no matter what you do, your ...

Most major biological molecules, including all proteins, DNA and RNA, point in one direction or another. In other words, they are chiral, or handed. Like how your left glove fits only your left hand ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Kate Adamala, University of Minnesota (THE CONVERSATION) Most major biological ...